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Eric Schmidt (65), former head of Google and originally from the United States, bought the Cypriot passport for himself and his family. This is what the Cypriot magazine “Alithia” reports. It therefore uses a program that enables citizenship for a fee.
Schmidt has not yet commented on the reasons for this step. With the new passport, you are entitled to easier EU entry conditions and possible tax advantages. In order for the application to be approved now, it would have had to register a full six months ago, at the start of the corona pandemic. The reason could be a Plan B for the Crown period or a business decision.
Discredited program
According to “Recode”, the citizenship program paid over 7 billion francs into the state coffers. However, it is often used by the oligarchs of the East and has therefore been the subject of increasing criticism in recent months. The government then announced that it would end the program.
Similar offers also exist in other countries. With additional citizenships, billionaires can move overseas, as businesses usually do. This allows you to save on taxes. The foreign citizen must purchase a property worth millions and can therefore apply for “citizenship based on an investment”, as “Recode” writes.
On the Forbes list
Buying such a house is no problem for Schmidt: according to Forbes, with a net worth of over 12 billion francs, he is number 84 on the list of the richest people in the world. In fact, he was the CEO of Google from 2001 to 2011 and is still a major shareholder.
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